On November 19, the Pocono Record, in northeastern Pennsylvania, reported:

Public hearings for the proposed Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge will be held locally Wednesday and Thursday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The public will have the opportunity to comment on the service’s just-released report, which recommended the national wildlife refuge designation.

The meetings will consist of an informational open house, a brief presentation and public comments.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has recommended the creation of a 20,000-acre national wildlife refuge at Cherry Valley, and the final decision will be influenced by the comments at the public hearings. If the refuge is approved, federal money will be offered to those landowners wishing to sell their land to the government. In addition, landowners could obtain a conservation easement for their property. (See the USFWS Cherry Valley refuge study website.)

The Pocono Record points out that:

If approved, this would be the first national wildlife refuge established in the Northeast states in at least a decade, and only the third national wildlife refuge in Pennsylvania.

On November 10, the Pocono Record published an editorial in support of the refuge:

The refuge proposal originated with landowners who believe the area deserves protection. Given Monroe County’s rapid population growth, with new houses, stores, businesses and schools, many of the county’s rural areas are being transformed by development. Despite thousands of acres falling under the protection of state game lands, parks and the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Monroe County’s population growth has continued to make incursions on the natural landscape and has dramatically raised its property tax burden.

Many advocates of the wildlife refuge look at the plan as a way to combine two goals: protecting a pristine area and stemming the tide of rising school property taxes.

The nation has 538 national wildlife refuges, including two in Pennsylvania. Besides its unique mix of flora and fauna, Cherry Valley lies along the Kittatinny Ridge, a prime flyway for birds of prey on the East Coast.

Kittatinny Ridge is also the location of the world famous Hawk Mountain Sanctuary.

Tags:
wildlife, National Wildlife Refuge System, Cherry Valley, Pennsylvania